Hungary postpones erecting disputed WWII memorial

BUDAPEST, Hungary (AP) — Hungary's government has decided to postpone erecting a disputed memorial of Germany's 1944 invasion until May 31.

The memorial that was slated for inauguration March 19 has been criticized by local Jewish groups and others who see it as an effort to minimize Hungary's role in the Holocaust, when 550,000 Hungarian Jews were killed.

Prime Minister Viktor Orban said in a letter to the Federation of Hungarian Jewish Communities released Thursday that their talks should be suspended until after Easter, because the campaign leading up to parliamentary elections on April 6 made it difficult to "tell each other our opinions in a compassionate and sober manner."

The federation has threatened to boycott commemorations of the 70th anniversary of the Holocaust in Hungary unless the government takes its views into account.